COLLEGE STATION — Seven freshmen make up nearly half of Texas A&M's roster of 15, so junior center Kelsey Bone is at times painfully aware of the Aggies' youth. Still, she said that shouldn't be an excuse — by as early as the winter holidays.

“We have to hold each other accountable,” Bone said. “So in December, we can finish down the stretch.”

The Aggies certainly didn't Wednesday, as No. 9 Penn State overcame a late five-point deficit to prevail 63-58 over the No. 16 Aggies before 4,756 fans in Reed Arena.

“Physically they out-toughed us the last five minutes of the game,” A&M coach Gary Blair said. “And we just made some costly turnovers.”

Bone led the Aggies with 16 points but threw away two balls in the last minute. Karla Gilbert followed with 10 points for A&M, which has opened the season 0-2 following a 47-45 loss at No. 8 Louisville.

“I'm not in this to win games, I'm in this to win championships, and take a team as far as I can in the playoffs,” said Blair, who guided the Aggies to the 2011 national championship.

Meanwhile, the Lady Lions, who return four starters from last year's 26-7 team, opened their season 2-0 following their first road test of the year.

“When you can go on the road in a tough environment — and Texas A&M is one of the toughest places to play in the country — and not play your best basketball and still come away with a win, that's a positive for us,” Penn State coach Coquese Washington said.

Bone also snagged a game-high 15 rebounds, while Mia Nickson led Penn State with 11. A&M led 56-51 with 6:24 remaining before the Lady Lions outscored the Aggies 12-2 down the stretch. The Aggies finished with 23 turnovers after having only nine at the half.

“(Bone) is a fantastic player, and she's got in great shape from the last time I saw her, which was her freshman year at South Carolina,” Washington said of the A&M transfer. “She's playing much more confidently than she did as a freshman, and in the first half, she was a handful for us.”